US President Barack Obama's May 30 ban against drilling in US waters deeper than 500 ft because of the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico helped drive up natural gas prices in the first days of June, industry analysts reported.

US President Barack Obama’s May 30 ban against drilling in US waters deeper than 500 ft because of the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico helped drive up natural gas prices in the first days of June, industry analysts reported.

Production of oil from the US Gulf of Mexico will drop by an average 26,000 b/d during the fourth quarter and roughly 70,000 b/d during 2011 as a result of the Obama administration’s 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts.

Production of oil from the US Gulf of Mexico will drop by an average 26,000 b/d during the fourth quarter and roughly 70,000 b/d during 2011 as a result of the Obama administration's 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts.

A federal judge in New Orleans on June 22 blocked the US government's 6-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and a White House spokesman said the Obama administration plans to appeal.